Prague, 14 December 2001 (RFE/RL) -- Prague's Municipal Court ruled today that Uzbek dissident Mohammad Solih will not be extradited to Uzebkistan from the Czech Republic. Solih -- who has asylum status in Norway -- was detained in Prague last month on an Interpol warrant, at the request of the Uzbek authorities, who accuse him of complicity in a 1999 bombing in Tashkent.

Solih says the charges are fabricated. Prague's Municipal Court ruled that Solih will not be extradited because of the support expressed on his behalf by the international community and also because Uzbekistan -- which has already sentenced him to 15 and a half years in prison in absentia -- has not proven it would give him a fair hearing.

In addition, the court noted that Uzbekistan and the Czech Republic have not signed an extradition treaty.